Start your career in a promising field of business and technology – solar energy! Extend your knowledge and skills in photovoltaics and connect with industry and academic experts.
Solar Winter School
- Certificate
- 2 Weeks
- Full time
- Practical study
- 5 ECTS
- €950.00 in total
- 2 Tracks: Solar Employee & Solar Entrepreneur
- English
- 10 - 23 March 2025
What you will learn
Designed with a focus on practical knowledge transfer, our Solar Winter School is a hands-on career development programme that connects you to professionals from the photovoltaics industry and academia, enhances your business and industry-relevant practical skillset and improves your international employment perspectives in emerging and mature markets.
Build the career that suits you best! Choose one of our two tracks:
- Solar Employee Track - gain a thorough understanding of solar companies, the market, and the industry.
- Solar Entrepreneur Track - obtain knowledge about founding a photovoltaci business and developing it in a successful and sustainable manner.
Next training: 10 - 23 March 2025
You have the option of completing the training on-site or online.
Attending this winter school is the first step in becoming an entrepreneur or employee in the photovoltaic energy business. You learn all the basics about photovoltaic technology and acquire essential knowledge for its implementation. The programme combines theory and practical approaches to meet the challenges within one of the fastest growing business areas - solar energy.
Content:
- Photovoltaics - An introduction and overview
- Electrical properties of solar cells and system design
- Quality of photovoltaic modules
- Components of on and off-grid photovoltaic systems (incl. energy storage and hybrid power generators)
- Optimisation of on and off-grid systems with examples and exercises
- Marketing of photovoltaics for urban and rural power supply
- Sales and planning skills
- Workshop practical installations and ideas for new photovoltaic products
- Excursion to off-grid photovoltaic installations and solar manufacturers
- Online training preparation
- Business matchmaking
- Industry networking
Total commitment: 6 weeks in total
- 2 weeks online preparation
- 2 weeks hands-on training in Berlin (on-campus participation) or online (online participation)
- Min. half-week internship at a German or international solar company
- 2 week online follow-up after training completion
Our innovative approach that pays off
The photovoltaics industry, which experiences high growth rates and revenues, provides major job opportunities for entrepreneurs and specialists who want to gain a foothold in the market.
Due to the decentralised nature of photovoltaic energy supply and the development of green energy projects in emerging markets, upcoming solar professionals are able to develop regional business structures and become attractive partners for national and international solar companies.
After finishing this intensive short course graduates...
- have the necessary knowledge and skills to start their own business within the solar industry
- have a thorough understanding of solar businesses, the market, and the industry and benefit from differerent career opportunities within the photovoltaics industry
Solar Employee track or Solar Entrepreneur track
During your training you can set a focus based on your personal preferences and your career aspirations. While most of the content is identical in both tracks, some content is adapted to your career plans:
Solar Employee Track | brochure
- Choose this track if you want to work for national and international companies active in photovoltaic solar energy industry
- Specialisation focuses on important management topics such as effective communication, business development, quality management, finance, supply chain management and many more
Solar Entrepreneur Track | brochure
- Choose this track if you want to start your own solar business
- Specialisation focuses on entrepreneurial topics such as business idea generation, personal profiling, market analysis, marketing, sales, finance and many more
We help you achieve your goals
Our requirements
If you...
- have an engineering, business or commercial background or
- are a working professional employed in a solar company or
- are a freelancer in the solar industry
- are an Engineering, Management or Renewable Energies student in your final years of study or
- a recent Engineering, Management or Renewable Energies graduate
...we invite you to join our Solar Winter School.
Please provide the following with your application:
- proof of proficient English language skills (at least B2/C1 level)
- letter of motivation
- curriculum vitae
Your tuition fees
- On-campus participation: €950 (incl. tax)
- Online participation: €475 (incl. tax)
Application process and deadlines
We are happy to welcome you to our university. This is our application process:
- Please apply to join our Solar Winter School by contacting the course coordinator Mr Matthias Raab | Email: raab@pv-pa.com | Phone: +49 162 8002010
- After submitting your documents to us, we will review them and invite you to an interview if you meet the criteria
- You transfer the course fees and apply for your visa (if relevant)
- You start the online preparation course
- You either continue online (online participation) or travel to Berlin to continue your training (on-campus participation)
- After finishing the training you receive a certificate and get two months of post-training support